Law Enforcement Firearms

with Richard Fairburn

Recommendations for the LEO 'Man Cave' literary and video library

We all need a place where we can retreat from the rigors of the profession. In addition to the a mandatory big screen TV, the surround sound system, the gunsmithing tools, and the refrigerator filled with cold drinks, the well-stocked LEO Man Cave will include an extensive video and literary library. My LEO Man Cave, is still a work-in-progress and probably always will be, and one of the areas that’s ever-changing is this combined library of movies and TV shows to watch, as well as books, manuals, and magazines to read. Below I have listed what’s in my Man Cave. Give us some feedback with your thoughts for the ultimate LEO Man Cave, as well as your recommendations for the literary and video library.

LEO Man Cave Video LibraryThese are my favorites, but only 18th/19th Century British Chick Flicks are totally off limits. For example, I have the Harry Potter series, since they are fabulously well-acted and directed, with great special effects, and clearly define the battle between good and evil. Among my police-type movies (this area covers all police/sheriff/marshals/heroes), the first three Dirty Harry movies are mandatory (Dirty Harry, Magnum Force and the Enforcer). As is any John Wayne police-type movie, but particularly, True Grit, Rooster Cogburn, and McQ. Here are the rest...

Police-type Movies Shaft All four Die Hard movies L.A. Confidential The French Connection Lethal Weapon (probably only the first one) Heat Serpico The Untouchables (1987 version with Sean Connery) The Choirboys The New Centurions The Blue Knight (original TV movie starring William Holden)

War/Leadership movies: Any … Hell, ALL John Wayne war movies! The Longest Day Apocalypse Now (because of Robert Duvall) Patton Saving Private Ryan U571 We were Soldiers The Patriot The Eagle has Landed Blackhawk Down Charlie Wilson’s War Tora!Tora!Tora! Full Metal Jacket Midway The Wild Geese Sniper The Hunt for Red October Sink the Bismark! Run Silent, Run Deep Red Dawn Braveheart The Great Escape Where Eagles Dare The Big Red 1 The Rough Riders (1997 TV mini-series) Band of Brothers (HBO series)

Westerns Again, damn near every John Wayne western ever made! Lonesome Dove Open Range Silverado Quigley Down Under Little Big Man Jeremiah Johnson Will Penny Monte Walsh (both the original starring Lee Marvin and the remake starring Tom Selleck) Legends of the Fall The Mountain Men The Man from Snowy River AND Return to Snowy River (REQUIRED for all mounted officers) Unforgiven Tombstone Pale Rider The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (other Clint Eastwood spaghetti westerns – if you like them) 3:10 to Yuma (both the Glen Ford version AND the Russell Crowe remake – different endings) You Know My Name (1999 TV Movie)

Comedy Dr. Strangelove (the FUNNIEST movie of all time!) Hot Fuzz (perhaps the second funniest movie of all time) Team America: World Police (yeah, they’re marionettes, but it is TOTALLY politically incorrect and hilarious) Police Academy (only the first one)

TV Police Series (TV is loaded with police shows, but most of them suck) Dragnet The Andy Griffith show Hill Street Blues NYPD Blue (most of the time) Reno 911

Musical Paint Your Wagon (the ONLY acceptable musical in a LEO Man Cave!)

LEO Man Cave Literary LibraryNow, for the LEO Man Cave literary library. Again, these are my favorites, but your tastes may run an entirely different direction. To begin with, you should have anything written by President Theodore Roosevelt...

Shooting/Firearms Training Books Police Rifles by Dick Fairburn (a totally self-serving plug!) Building a Better Gunfighter by Dick Fairburn (another totally self-serving plug!) On Killing by Dave Grossman On Combat by Dave Grossman and Loren W. Christensen Sharpening the Warrior’s Edge by Bruce Siddle Into the Kill Zone by Dave Klinger Ph.D. Deadly Force Encounters by Alexis Artwhol, Ph.D. and Loren W. Christensen The Modern Technique of the Pistol by Gregory B. Morrison and Jeff Cooper The Principles of Personal Defense by Jeff Cooper The Gift of Fear by Gavin de Becker Handgun Combatives by Dave Spaulding Hatcher’s Notebook by Major General Julian Hatcher Textbook of Pistols and Revolvers by Major General Julian Hatcher Handbook for Shooters and Reloaders (Volumes I and II) by P.O. Ackley The Ultimate Sniper by Major John L. Plaster Death from Afar (USMC Sniper series) by Norm and Roy Chandler ALL Armorer’s manuals from any weapon manufacturer’s class you attended Assorted reloading manuals

Hunting Books Anything written by Elmer Keith Anything written by Jack O’Connor Anything written by Peter Hathaway Capstick Use Enough Gun by Robert Ruark The Man Eaters of Tsavo by Lt. Col. J.H. Patterson Hunter by J.A. Hunter

History/Non-FictionCommon Sense by Thomas Paine The Declaration of Independence The U.S. Constitution (as amended) The Federalist Papers by Hamilton, Monroe, and Jay The Journals of Lewis & Clark by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark The 9/11 Commission Report Anything written by Allan W. Eckert The Shooters by Leon Claire Metz Men with Sand by John Moring Any sniper book by Peter Senich Marine Sniper by Charles Henderson A Frozen Hell: The Russo Finnish war of 1939-1940 by William R. Trotter Band of Brothers by Stephen Ambrose Blackhawk Down by Mark Bowden ALL Non-fiction books written by Tom Clancy ALL books by Ann Coulter

Biographies/Autobiographies Theodore Roosevelt ALL of the founding fathers (particularly Washington, Adams, Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin) Winston Churchill Ronald Reagan Margaret Thatcher (the Iron Lady had more “balls” than most men!) Will by G. Gordon Liddy

Leadership Books (most of them out there cover management not leadership) Led by a Lion by Dick Fairburn (a totally self-serving plug for my next book project!) The Art of War by Sun Tzu Leadership by Rudolph W. Giuliani Theodore Roosevelt on Leadership: Lessons from the Bully Pulpit by James M. Strock Patton’s One Minute Messages: Tactical Leadership Skills for Business managers by Charles M. Province

FictionAll novels by Tom Clancy (and those “written in association with” Tom Clancy if you like) All novels by Joseph Waumbaugh Most novels by Zane Grey Most novels by Steven Hunter Most novels by Nelson DeMille The Lonesome Dove series by Larry McMurtry The Caine Mutiny by Herman Wouk Day of the Jackal by Frederick Forsyth The entire 31 novel “Casca” series written by SSgt Barry Sadler (and several ghostwriters)

Misc./Multiple Categories BooksAny book by Jeff Cooper (make that ALL books by Jeff Cooper) Good Friends, Good Guns, Good Whiskey by Skeeter Skelton

Poetry (History has long respected warrior poets!) Most of the works of Edgar Allen Poe All Cowboy poetry books by Baxter Black Most of the works of Rudyard Kipling Selections from the works of William Shakespeare

About the author

Dick Fairburn has more than 30 years of law enforcement experience in both Illinois and Wyoming, working patrol, investigations and administrative assignments. Dick has also served as a Criminal Intelligence Analyst and as the Section Chief of a major academy's Firearms Training Unit and Critical Incident training program. He has a B.S. in Law Enforcement Administration from Western Illinois University and was the Valedictorian of his recruit class at the Illinois State Police Academy. He has published more than 100 feature articles and two books: Police Rifles and Building a Better Gunfighter.